Happy May! We have entered into a very busy time of the year. First of all, I'd like to thank all of you for making me feel special during Teacher Appreciation week. The birthday party and beautiful bracelet were special birthday treats. We have several exciting events planned for the upcoming weeks. Next Monday we are going on our Soundwaters Sail. We will be aboard the schooner for three hours while the children get to learn about the Long Island Sound first-hand. Please put sunscreen on your children in the morning and send them with a hat. Dress them in layers. You won't want to miss our Flat Stanley show on Thursday, May 24th at 11:00. All the second graders will be singing and sharing some poems with you about their friend, Flat Stanley. We have all loved hearing about all the adventures he's been having with his new friends. On May 31st, we will be heading out to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The children have been studying various artists throughout the year and now they will get a chance to see the masterpieces in person. In Reader's and Writer's Workshop we will be starting our final unit which is an Author Study. We will be reading books by Vera Williams and comparing and contrasting them. We will be especially focusing on her techniques and style. Our Poetry unit was a big success. We will be inviting you into our classroom in June to share our poems with you. In Math we will be starting Unit 11 in which we review addition and subtraction algorithms. The children will be practicing the trade-first algorithm in subtraction. They will also solve multiplication and division number stories. Most children have learned all their addition facts and have passed the biweekly timings. They are now working on memorizing the subtraction facts. A few of them are already learning the times tables. In Science we are ending our six week unit on Plant Growth. The children have observed and charted their own plant's growth. We will begin our study of the Long Island Sound. What a busy month we have ahead of us! We have a lot to look forward to.